Chapter 18
Karolinska hospital Floor 7
Edith sits in the hospital bed and hears the rolling food cart come closer and closer to the room and her mouth fills with saliva. Edith feels very hungry now. The food served today is boiled potatoes and ground beef and vegetables. The other three patients in Edith's room look expectantly at the soon-to-be-opened door. The other three patients in Edith's room have had surgery and two of them will start training to walk with crutches a few hours after they eat their food and they are looking forward to walking again. Edith will hopefully be operated on tomorrow.
The door opens and the large shiny steel food cart rolls in and the person serving the food takes out two plates in each hand and gives them to the patients who have their hospital beds at the far end of the room. After that, the third patient and Edith get their food. The food looks very good and smells good too. The server brings out water for all four patients and gives it to them. The man who serves the food stands in the middle of the room and looks at the patients
- Now you eat this good food and I will then come back later and get your empty plates and then have coffee and some tasty cake.
The man serving the food leaves the room and rolls out the food cart and enters the next patient room.
Edith begins to eat the food she was served and it tastes as she expects. The other three patients also begin to eat their food and the room becomes silent except for a low noise from the ventilation. Edith is happy when she sees that there are many green peas next to the potatoes. It looks so nice with colorful food.
A nurse enters the room and gives some of the patients medicine to take with their food. Edith will also receive medicine, but not right now but later in the evening. Because Edith has pain in her leg, she receives painkillers twice a day and that is the only medicine she needs. Edith otherwise does not use any medication, although she does take Omega-3 sometimes but it is not a medication.
Edith is hungry and eats quickly and soon the plate is almost empty and she starts to feel full. Edith hears rapid footsteps outside the room and suddenly Sven enters the room and Edith is both happy and surprised. She knew Sven would come but she thought he would come after the food. Sven pulls out a chair and sits down by Edith's hospital bed and he looks at her lovingly. The nurse giving the other patients medicine clears her throat.
- It's not visiting time right now. The patients are eating right now.
Edith looks away at the nurse.
- It's okay for me if Sven is here. He does not disturb the others.
The nurse sighs and mumbles away at the corner and finally says; okay, but don't talk so loud.
Edith and Sven look at each other and there is so much in their eyes that says much more than words can. Sven looks at Edith's almost empty plate and he decides to tell about his ideas regarding the trip and the nursing home.
- Is it boring here in the ward?
- Yes, there is very little to do here and I am used to always having something to do at home in the villa.
- Are you still enjoying the villa?
- Apart from the fact that it is a little too big for me alone, I guess I still enjoy it.
- You didn't want to live in an apartment?
- Hmm, it would have worked well, I suppose. Is there anything in particular that you have in mind?
- Yes, don't get me wrong now. You manage most things at home, but you sometimes forget some things. Like the old sour milk I found in the fridge and other things I haven't commented on but have seen. I think you need more help in the household and I'm thinking about whether a nursing home would be something for you. You could live in a nursing home where you get help but can still do a lot on your own.
- Nursing home? Hmm. In that case, I want the other people who live there to be around my age so it's not too old people who can't talk to. I would also like to be able to cook my own food because I can do that without any problems. It's fun to be served food, but I think it's better to do as much yourself as possible.
- I agree with you. I've actually looked at a nursing home and most of the people who live there are between 70 and 90 years old and seem to be able to do about as well as you. They just need a little help and support in their lives. The staff may be able to help you buy groceries because you have said that you are not sure about the bank card. You don't have to take care of the villa and fall off that apple tree.
- I was so terribly clumsy yesterday when I fell from the apple tree. I could have asked you to cut the branches but as you know I want to do a lot myself.
- I know. Listen Edith, that was another thing I've thought about too. What do you say if you and I go to Paris when your leg is better?
- But oh, yes, thank you, I'd love to. I haven't visited Paris since Lars-åke and I was there in 1998. It was an absolutely magical trip.
- I remember that you talked a lot about the trip and that you said you wanted to travel there again, but it hasn't happened that way. I think I can book all the hotels and drive the car so you just have to come along. Nowadays, you usually have to book a trip on the internet and you don't have a computer at home.
- Eh, I don't fully trust such novelties and I haven't needed a computer before so I don't know why I would need one now. I don't understand things like Facebook or whatever it's called. Before, people called each other if they wanted to meet, but now they ask each other if they have Facebook instead.
Sven can't help but giggle at what Edith says. She is absolutely right. People don't socialize the same way anymore and he thinks it's a shame. Edith, in turn, sits and smiles as she thinks about the future trip to Paris. So much fun it will be.
Suddenly, Edith feels a strange movement in her chest. It almost feels as if something is moving in there and Edith frowns. Sven looks out the big window so he doesn't see Edith frowning. Edith shifts in bed because she feels uncomfortable in her body and Sven looks at Edith again.
- Oh, by the way. You may remember my Fiat is not so nice to travel in but I have been thinking of buying a new car soon because my Fiat is so worn and old. After all, I've had it for over 25 years.
Edith remembers that it is not so nice to sit in the back seat of Sven's car, but the seat next to the driver's seat is nice to sit in. Edith prefers to sit in the front seat because she easily gets motion sickness otherwise. However, she does not get seasick even if she rides a ferry that rocks a lot. Edith has taken many ferries to Finland and also once to Estonia.
Edith feels a rising pain in her chest and she moans weakly and grimaces and Sven immediately looks worried.
- Are you not feeling well? Do you have leg pain?
- No, it hurts the chest somehow.
- Like a heart attack?
- No, more like .. like there was something there that shouldn't be there. It's hard to explain.
- But there is nothing that can be there, except if it is breast cancer. How long have you had chest pain?
- I felt a movement in my chest almost now and now it's starting to sting and hurt there.
The nurse has heard what Edith has said and turns directly to her and walks over to the hospital bed. The nurse gently feels Edith's chest.
- Does it hurt when I have my hand here?
- No, the pain is inside the chest somehow.
The nurse looks thoughtful.
- Hmm. Maybe it's the lungs that hurt then. They sit close to the chest and it is easy to think that the pain is coming from the chest when the lungs hurt.
Edith has never felt this pain before and she feels that the nurse's theory is wrong and it still wouldn't explain the movement in the chest. Edith almost feels as if something is weighing down her chest from the inside, but she can't quite explain what she feels. Sven grabs one of Edith's hands and holds it lightly and she smiles at him and looks a little apologetic.
- I'm not used to others helping me with everything. I'm used to doing everything myself.
- I know. Does the chest feel better or is it getting worse?
Edith tries to concentrate on the feeling in her chest and the pain seems to come in waves. Sometimes you feel almost nothing except for a weight that has gotten bigger and bigger. Edith tries to put into words what she feels.
- It doesn't really hurt so it's probably nothing dangerous, but the bad comes in waves, but when it doesn't hurt, I feel like a big weight in my chest that keeps growing and getting bigger.
The nurse scratches her hair and feels Edith's chest again but this time she hugs it and suddenly feels something pushing from inside the chest and a cracking sound is heard from Edith's chest. Edith looks down at her chest with a questioning expression. Now what is this? Sven also hears the cracking sound.
Suddenly, Sven understands the terrible truth. Edith has been attacked by a Facehugger and a Chestburster is about to be born from her chest. Sven of course does not want it to be true, but everything indicates that it is unfortunately true. Sven looks seriously at Edith.
- Edith, have you seen a big slimy egg recently here at the hospital?
- Yes how did you know? The large egg was in the common area near the bookshelves. I was in my wheelchair then.
- Were you near the egg?
- Yes, I was curious as to what it was. It was a strange egg. It was large and sort of leathery.
The nurse wonders what Edith and Sven are talking about.
- What are you talking about? The only eggs available here are the breakfast eggs that the patients receive in the morning. Was it such an egg that you saw in the room?
Edith shakes her head.
- This egg that I saw is so big that a single person wouldn't be able to eat it and it had a slimy outside and also the inside was filled with slime so I really didn't want to eat it.
Sven nods in agreement to what Edith says, even though he has not seen the egg with his own eyes
The nurse stares at Sven and Edith and wonders what is going on here, and she also starts to get slightly irritated.
- Can you explain what the hell you are talking about and how it is related to Edith having pain in her chest?
Sven sighs because he knows this can be a bit difficult to explain to a nurse without sounding like an idiot.
- Okay, this big egg that Edith and I were talking about contains a nasty little creature called the Facehugger...
Edith hears a loud cracking sound from inside her chest and she hits her ribcage with one hand and the sound goes away but a feeling of something moving increases even more and she feels almost ready to throw up because whatever is in her chest is moving strongly.
- The facehugger has a proboscis which it penetrates through the victim's throat and it soon fills the victim's throat with many eggs. The eggs move towards the chest and several or one of them begins to grow and when the eggs have become large enough, a kind of fry begins to grow in the victim's chest and it eats the nutrients that are in the victim's body and grows bigger and bigger and is called a Chestburster. ..
Edith sees how her chest are stretched out by something pressing from inside her chest and the pain in her chest immediately gets worse and she starts to whine weakly. The chest expands again and this time it expands even more than it did before. Edith can hear an intense gnawing sound from within her chest.
Edith's chest is stretched again and this time so much that there is a hole in the protective skin and the blood that flows out of the hole spreads all over Edith's white hospital shirt and runs down the bed when the shirt is completely soaked with blood. Suddenly, a tearing sound is heard and Edith's chest pushes out from the inside and the hole in the skin gets even bigger and the white hospital gown is pushed out so much that it tears.
- The chestburster grows quickly, especially if it receives a lot of nutrition. Like when the victim eats food. Soon the little beast in the victim's chest starts to press against the victim's chest and it can hurt and the skin on the victim's chest can break and start bleeding profusely but the unpleasantness is not over yet...
The chestburster explodes from Edith's chest in a large shower of blood and loose body parts, and the blood sprays over both Sven and the nurse. The chestburster gives its birth cry and jumps out of the big hole in Edith's chest and onto the floor and it looks like it is heading for Sven but it changes direction in a flash and attacks the nurse instead. Sven watches as the Chestburster bites the nurse's skin and pulls off small pieces of flesh that soon disappear into the Chestburster's jaw. The three other patients scream in terror as they see what came out of Edith's chest and what the beast is doing to the nurse. Surprised exclamations are heard out in the corridor and a male nurse comes running into the room.
- What is going on here? Oh my God. No no no.
The male nurse sees the Chestburster and reverses back out into the corridor again and Sven guesses that the nurse knows what kind of monster this is. The chestburster continues to tear off small parts of the female nurse's body without interruption and the blood splatters everywhere on the floor and the wall behind Sven and the nurse. Sven looks at Edith's lifeless body, which has sunk into the bed and is half-lying in front of the pale yellow blanket, and he already feels a strong lack of Edith. Now she won't be able to see Paris again, nor move to a nursing home. Instead, she will eventually be buried in the cemetery. Sven wishes this is just a very bad dream but he knows it isn't.
The chestburster eats a hole in the female nurse's stomach and the entrails spill out through the hole in the stomach and Sven turns away in disgust and looks out the large window at the far end of the room. The sun shines through the window just as if this is a nice and ordinary happy day. It would have been better if it had been raining or there were dark clouds everywhere, but not a single cloud is visible in the light blue clear sky. Sven hears the disgusting sound as the Chestburster swallows the nurse's guts and he feels slightly sick. The female nurse's body slides to the floor and lies there and the body ends up right on top of the Chestburster but it manages to crawl out from under the lifeless body and the Chestburster starts crawling away towards the three patients and they look in horror at the yellow-red monster approaching them .
Sven sees a smaller wooden broom and he grabs it and hits the wooden broom against the Chestburster so that it ends up closer to the doorway. Sven manages to hit the Chestburster and it flies across the floor because Sven hits it so hard, but when it ends up further away in the room again, it increases the speed of its crawling and almost runs across the floor like a big snake. The blood from the Chestburster's body leaves a squiggly trail on the floor and Sven tries to stomp on the little monster but its body is too hard so he nearly trips over the Chestburster in his attempts to stop its advance. Sven grabs the Chestburster's tail and tries to throw it across the floor, but the little monster turns around in a flash and Sven is almost bitten in the fingers by the Chestburster's silver steel teeth. Sven would like to protect the other patients, but he does not want to die for their sake. The chestburster crawls all the way to the furthest bed and climbs into bed.
The patient in the farthest bed screams so loudly that the large window rattles as the Chestburster begins to tear off small pieces of the patient's flesh and swallow them. The blood spurts out over the white sheet, staining it blood red. Sven stands looking at the Chestburster for a short while but then walks over to Edith's lifeless body and he lays her on her back and closes her still open eyes and sits down heavily in the chair he was sitting in earlier and begins to cry loudly. Why exactly Edith? Why wasn't she allowed to live and see Paris again and live in a nursing home? Sven thinks that life is very unfair now that Edith died and at the same time he feels an enormous anger towards Michael. If Michael had never wished for the Alien monsters to exist in reality, Edith would still be alive.
The chestburster continues unabated to tear off smaller pieces of flesh but also hard human bones from the still screaming patient, greedily swallowing all the flesh it can get into its jaws. It crackles as the sharp steel teeth eat hard human bone, crushing them into a white flour that the Chestburster then swallows. After a short while, the patient's screams begin to die down, and this is because the patient is dying of blood loss. The blood from the patient runs down the side of the hospital bed and onto the floor, forming a small pool but the largest amount of blood is on the sheet.
When the Chestburster has eaten most of the patient's body, it crawls back down to the floor and begins to change. The yellow-red skin is stretched to the breaking point and soon begins to crack in several places, exposing grey-black moist skin that is underneath the yellow-red. The two patients seem to think that the little monster is dying, but Sven knows exactly what is happening. The Chestburster will grow into an adult Alien and the process has just begun.
The Chestburster's yellow-red skin is shedding more and more as it grows larger and its entire body shape changes. The head becomes elongated and banana-like, and its black-grey skin glistens with transparent mucus. A large jaw becomes visible under the elongated head and large amounts of transparent drool begin to flow from the jaw. A ridged ribcage develops and becomes larger. Long legs form under the creature and as the legs grow, the creature rises in height. The tail changes and becomes longer and has skeleton-like growths along the entire length of the tail and the tail ends with a spade-shaped end. Long and flexible growths grow along the creature's back. Long arms grow out along both sides of the creature and they end in hands that have long and black claws. The creature continues to grow and a smell reminiscent of hot iron begins to spread in the room. The two patients sit in their beds and watch silently as the Chestburster grows into a full grown Alien monster. Neither of the two patients have seen any of the Alien movies so they don't know what kind of monster they have in front of them.
The alien monster has now fully grown and it immediately goes to attack the nearest patient. The alien monster opens its large jaw and the inner mouth is shot out with explosive speed, smashing the patient's skull with a nasty cracking sound. The inner mouth tears away the patient's dark hair and it disappears into the jaw. The inner mouth is pushed out again and opens the patient's stomach so that the shiny entrails spill out through the stomach and into the bed but the Alien monster swallows the shiny entrails and they disappear down the monster's jaw like long thin sausages. The other patient starts to scream as she sees what is happening and realizes that the same thing will probably happen to her. The Alien monster continues to eat the patient and soon she is mostly an empty skeleton and the Alien monster goes to the patient next door.
The female patient holds her two hands up in front of her as if to fend off the monster but it is far too strong and soon stands in front of her. The transparent drool flows from the Alien monster's jaws and soaks the white sheet of the hospital bed and as the patient moves, a slippery sound is soon heard with every movement she makes. The alien monster opens its large jaw and the inner mouth shoots out and smashes the patient's face and the entire nasal bone appears to be crushed. Blood gushes from the crushed nose and the inner mouth shoots out again and this time it penetrates deep into the patient's chest and she screams in pain and fear. The inner mouth manages to find the patient's heart and pulls it out. Sven can see that the heart is still beating when it is swallowed and he knows that the patient will not be in pain because she is now dead. The patient's dead body slumps in the bed but the Alien monster continues to eat the flesh it can reach. It doesn't take long until the patient's body is an empty skeleton and the Alien monster turns and walks towards Sven and the bed where Edith is lying.
Sven stares at the Alien monster as it approaches him and the bed where Edith's lifeless body lies and Sven decides that he is not going to let the Alien monster eat Edith's body. If the Alien monster continues towards the bed, Sven intends to fight it even if it means he will die. But the Alien monster seems uninterested in both Sven and Edith and finally leaves the room and goes out into the corridor and Sven exhales and turns to look at Edith's lifeless body again. There is so much Sven wanted to say to Edith, but now it is too late. Sven hears the people out in the corridor starting to scream and he knows the Alien monster is attacking them but he can't help them. Sven takes one last look at Edith's body and leaves the room. It is already full chaos out in the corridor and the Alien monster's drool mixes with the blood of the victims and turns into a very slippery red goo and Sven has to walk very carefully not to slip in the slippery goo. A man grabs Sven's shirt and shouts at him.
- Help me! The monster is killing the others and I really don't want to die. My wife is pregnant and will soon give birth.
Sven looks at the man who has grabbed his shirt and nods at the man and starts to walk towards the exit.
- Follow me.
The man follows Sven and they manage to get out of the ward and Sven walks towards the elevators and pushes them up. Sven looks at the man.
- Which floor are you going to?
- I'm going to floor 3.
- Let's hope there aren't any monsters there either.
- I hope so too.
The elevator comes up to floor 7 and Sven and the man enter the elevator and press the button for floor 3. Only now does Sven notice the runny slime on the floor and he suspects that there are many Alien eggs that have been placed in the hospital and he gets mad at Michael again and decides to call him and tell him what has happened. But Sven chooses to wait to call until he has come back down to the garage and can talk undisturbed.
Karolinska hospital Floor 6
Mahmed goes out into the corridor to collect the next patient. Mahmed is an ophthalmologist and he will examine a patient's eyes and try to find suitable glasses for the patient. Mahmed approaches the waiting room where the patient is sitting and waiting, and when Mahmed enters the waiting room, he sees something strange. There is a large, leathery, open egg by one of the bookshelves, and the whole egg is glistening with transparent slime, and Mahmed furrows his brow in annoyance. That egg doesn't look like it belongs in the hospital decor and he wonders where it came from. The egg was not there when he picked up his first patient at 10 o'clock in the morning. The female patient who is to enter Mahmed's room gets up and leaves the waiting room.
Mahmed notices that the patient's face has marks as if someone or something has pressed fully extended fingers over the patient's face and the skin on the patient's face is red in several places. Mahmed hopes that the patient reported the person who did the damage to the police because he doesn't think it happened voluntarily. Mahmed arrives at his patient room and admits the patient before closing the door. The woman drinks some water and eats two crackers while Mahmed starts up his equipment. When the machines have started, Mahmed tells the patient to sit on the green chair in front of the largest machine.
The female patient sits down on the green chair and says that she had such chest pain all of a sudden. This patient has visited Mahmed three times before and each time the patient complained of a stomach ache, a sore throat and a pain in one ear but Mahmed did not feel that the patient was actually in pain but was probably just nervous and he thinks it is the same thing this time too. Mahmed sits on the other side of the machine and adjusts so that the patient can look through the two holes in the machine. The machine detects how the patient's pupils move and how open they are and also if there is cataracts or other problems. The machine also chooses approximately what strength the glasses must have, but Mahmed also intends to let the patient read from a white board with different letters. The letters on the board have different sizes and further help Mahmed to find the right strength of the glass in the glasses. When the height of the machine is adjusted correctly, Mahmed clears his throat to get the patient's attention.
- Now everything is ready. Look through the two holes directly in front of you and concentrate on the orange line that you will see in the machine and try to follow the orange line with your eyes but do not turn your head but keep it still.
The patient looks away at the white board.
- Shouldn't we use the white board?
- Well after I have examined your eyes with this machine. Are you sitting comfortably in the chair?
- Absolutely.
- Okay, then I'll turn on the light here. Yes, now I want you to look through the two holes and follow the orange line with your eyes.
The patient looks through the two holes and sees the orange line and tries to follow it with his eyes. The orange line moves in different directions but is still reasonably easy to follow. The machine records the patient's eye movements in the meantime and changes the focus on the orange line so that the patient has to squint to see it properly again.
- The line becomes blurred.
- I know. You need to focus on it again.
- How long does this take?
- Just a few more minutes. Concentrate on the line again.
The patient sits back firmly in the chair and looks at the orange line and follows it with the eyes while the machine records every movement the eyes make and measures the size of the pupils. The patient suddenly feels a violent movement in her chest and loses concentration. Mahmed sees right away when the patient loses concentration but he doesn't say anything because he knows it's easy to lose concentration and not focus on the orange line. The patient coughs dryly and feels her chest with one hand and it feels normal but the movement she just felt in her chest does not seem normal and she becomes worried. The patient leans forward and focuses on the orange line again but the movement in the chest returns and feels even stronger now. The patient again coughs dryly and begins to mumble weakly.
- There is something in the chest that feels completely wrong. It feels like something is moving in there and I don't know what it is but it worries me.
Mahmed looks at what the display on the machine is showing and it is almost done with the examination and he wants the patient to look at the machine again.
- Now the investigation is almost finished. I want you to look into the machine one last time and follow the orange line.
- Didn't you hear what I said about the chest?
- I can look at your chest when the examination is finished, but I can promise you that there is no problem.
The female patient looks through the two holes again and follows the orange line with her eyes as a frantic gnawing sound begins to be heard from her chest. Mahmed also hears the sound and wonders where it is coming from but concentrates on the machine's display. There is a pinging sound from the machine and the survey is finished and Mahmed gets up from his chair and goes to the printer and chooses to print the results of the survey. Mahmed looks at the female patient.
- You can get up from the chair if you want.
The female patient gets up from the chair and she appears to be out of breath and breathing faster than usual. Mahmed stands looking at the paper being printed when he sees out of the corner of his eye how the patient suddenly loses her balance and falls heavily to the floor. Mahmed runs up to the female patient and turns her body so that she is lying on her back and then he looks at her worriedly. The female patient moans loudly and begins to have severe convulsions and Mahmed holds her so she doesn't hurt herself.
Suddenly, something explodes from the female patient's chest and blood sprays over Mahmed's face, temporarily blinding him. Mahmed hears a strange kind of scream that doesn't sound human and he wipes all the blood from his face and tries to see what is going on. A small yellow-red monster sticks out from the patient's chest, and Mahmed thinks the monster resembles something sexual. Lots of blood pours out from the patient's open chest and Mahmed suspects that his patient is dead and wonders what to do with this yellow-red monster.
The yellow-red monster jumps out of the patient's chest and onto the floor and crawls lightning fast towards the door of the room and manages to open it. Mahmed sees when the monster disappears into the corridor and he gets up and starts to run after the little monster but it is much faster than he is and attacks a nurse who has just been to the toilet. Mahmed watches as the monster eats the nurse's body and he spots a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall and he grabs it and pulls the safety latch and starts spraying fire foam at the little monster. The fire foam seems to gurgle from inside the monster's jaws but it continues to eat at the nurse's body and Mahmed hits the fire extinguisher at the monster's body and it breaks free from its tight grip and falls to the floor. Mahmed again hits the monster's body with the fire extinguisher and manages to hit the monster's head.
There is a big hole in the monster's smooth head and yellow blood starts to shoot out from the hole and Mahmed soon sees that the yellow blood is eating holes in the floor. The little monster screams in a shrill voice and quickly crawls across the floor as the yellow blood spurts from its head. The automatic fire alarm goes off due to the smoke created as the blood corrodes the floor and the water sprinklers in the ceiling activate, spraying cold water throughout the hallway. Due to the large amount of water from the water sprinklers, Mahmed loses sight of the little monster. He doesn't know where it went.
Karolinska hospital Floor 5
Frida is sitting in her examination room and looking to see how many booked patients she has left before she has to finish for the day and there are only three patients left on the list so she can hopefully finish earlier today. Frida writes into the computer's program about the last patient she had and how she helped the patient with his concerns. Frida writes quickly and it doesn't take long until she is done with her patient report and she looks away towards her work bag and the good apple she has there. Frida rolls her chair away to the work bag and takes out the delicious apple and takes a big bite into it.
There is a quick knock on the door and Frida shouts; come in. The door opens and a colleague pokes his face in and looks imploringly at Frida.
- Can you take an emergency patient who is actually due to arrive tomorrow? I have to pick up the children from the nanny. I can take one of your patients tomorrow as a thank you.
Frida shrugs her shoulders. She doesn't have a patient for over an hour so she can help her colleague.
- What kind of problem does the patient have?
- Stomach ache. His wife recently divorced so I think it's actually stress related. His name is Björn.
- Sure, no problem. Just let him in.
- He is sitting in the waiting room.
- What's his number?
- 50.
- Okay, then I'll solve this. Go get your children.
- Thank you very much.
The door closes and Frida turns on her portable microphone that is on the desk and shouts into it so that it can be heard in the waiting room.
- Patient 50 to room 13, please.
It doesn't take long until Frida hears quick steps outside the door and the door opens and a fair-haired middle-aged man enters the room and carefully closes the door behind him. Frida gets up from her chair and approaches the male patient.
- Your name was Björn, right?
The man smiles at Frida.
- That´s right, and your name is...Frida.
Björn looks at Frida's name tag to find out her name. Frida puts on soft rubber gloves that she usually uses when she examines her patients. Frida nods towards an empty chair and Björn sits on the chair. Frida sees that the man has some slime in his hair but does not comment on it and it also looks as if someone has pressed their hand hard against Björn's face.
- So, what can I help you with, Björn?
- I was out for a walk in the woods and got such a damn stomach ache. It felt like a hot ember in my stomach.
- That doesn't sound very nice. I heard you've been a bit stressed right now.
- Yes, my wife has divorced me and has taken both the children and the dog with her. I think she could have left the dog behind.
- I'm a doctor so I don't know anything about that. Have your stools been loose or hard?
- Excuse me? What does my stool have to do with this?
Frida sighs and looks at the patient.
- If there is hard stool in the stomach and intestines, it can hurt the whole stomach. Well, have you had loose or hard stools or regular?
- I think... It must have been hard, I think.
- Have you been able to empty your bowels properly?
- I do not know. I've had other things on my mind.
- Mmm okay. Can you take off your pants and underpants and lie on the bunk here?
Frida points to a larger bunk that is on the other side of the room and the patient doesn't look like he wants to take off his clothes but does anyway and he lies down on his back on the bunk.
- You have to lie on your side if I'm going to be able to examine you. You have to lie with your butt facing me.
Björn lays down on his side so that his bum sticks out towards the room and Frida takes out a bottle of lubricant and holds out a big dollop of it in her hands and walks up to Björn.
- It may feel a little cold and uncomfortable in your butt, but it will soon get better.
Björn nods quietly and Frida pushes her hands into Björn's ass and feels if there seems to be hard faeces there. At the same time, Björn feels a strong movement in his chest and his whole body jerks. Frida pulls her hands out of Björn's ass.
- Sorry, did it hurt when I felt your ass?
- No, it was something else. It was as if something was moving violently in my chest.
- There is nothing that can move in the chest. Possibly you can feel the heart beating sometimes.
- But I just felt something move in my chest and it didn't feel normal.
- That is impossible. Is it okay if I feel a little in your ass?
- Yes Yes. It's fine.
Frida pushes her hand into Björn's ass again and feels how it feels there. After a short while, she pulls her hand out again and she gets a napkin that Björn can use to wipe away the lubricant he has in his ass.
- You can wipe your bottom with the napkin here. There seems to be hard stool in the bowel so I write a prescription for a mild laxative for you to take once a day. Any questions on that?
- Do you really think it will help my stomachache?
- It should.
Björn wipes his bum while Frida writes out the prescription Björn is to receive and he feels such a strong movement in his chest that he loses his breath. Frida has her attention focused on the receipt she is writing so she does not notice what is happening behind her. Björn is dry in the ass and puts on his underpants and pants. Suddenly, a gnawing sound is heard from inside Björn's chest and he moans weakly. Frida also hears the sound and turns and looks at Björn.
Björn feels how his throat suddenly tightens and he finds it hard to breathe and he tries to cough but the first cough is very weak. Björn coughs again and this cough is stronger but he still has trouble breathing and he starts to panic. Frida sees that there is something wrong with Björn and she approaches him.
- What is it that is wrong? Do you have a stomach ache?
Björn still has trouble breathing and moans out the words.
- Having... difficulty...to...breathe...ahhhh.
Björn gets a lot of pain in his chest and he grimaces from the pain. Frida hasn't seen Björn eat anything, so no food should be able to get stuck in his throat, but she still goes behind him and hits his back with her hand so that whatever is preventing his breathing can release. Frida's punch in Björn's back actually helps a bit and Björn takes a few shaky deep breaths and his body is not as tense as before but it still hurts in his chest. Frida notices that Björn seems to be breathing properly again so she goes back to the desk and gets the prescription that Björn is to get.
The gnawing sound returns and it's louder and more intense this time and Björn looks down at his chest and doesn't understand what it's all about. There is a crashing sound reminiscent of when a ribcage breaks and Frida also hears the sound and also begins to think about what is going on in Björn's body.
Suddenly, Björn's chest explodes in a big explosion of blood and small body parts belonging to the chest and a smaller yellow-red creature appears in the middle of the open chest and it seems to crawl out of the open and bloody chest. Frida recoils in terror against the desk and the creature manages to get out of Björn's chest and lands on the floor with a light thud. Frida can see that the yellow-red creature has a very long tail and a head that is smooth and slightly banana-shaped, and she wonders what kind of creature it is. Frida can see that the creature has sharp teeth and they look like they are made of metal and she understands that the creature can do a lot of damage to her if it gets closer and she realizes that she can't go back any further but is trapped. Frida looks for something on the desk that can be used as a weapon if the creature attacks, but the hardest thing she has on the table is a paper puncher.
The creature lets out a loud scream and crawls over to the door, managing to get it open as Björn's lifeless body crumples to the floor with a thud. There is so much blood in the room that Frida understands that Björn died when the little creature exploded from his chest. Frida remains in the room with the prescription in her hand that Björn was supposed to receive, but she decides to go out into the corridor and try to harm or get rid of the yellow-red creature. Frida comes out into the corridor and she can immediately see the tracks of the creature and they lead to the staff dining room and she knows that there are sharp knives there with which she can hurt the creature. But when she opens the door, a crashing sound is heard and she just happens to see the creature get out of a broken window. Frida thinks it's nice that she doesn't have to fight with the creature and she hopes it doesn't survive the high drop and dies.
Frida leaves the dining room and starts to go to her examination room. She has to clean up all the blood before the next patient arrives. Frida hears that some of the colleagues are talking about some big egg that is in the waiting room, and she gets curious and goes there. Frida arrives at the waiting room and sees a large egg that is slimy and leathery, and she suspects that what happened to Björn has something to do with the egg. Frida calls out to a colleague and they help each other remove the egg from the waiting room and it is decided that the egg should go to the laboratory to be carefully examined.
Frida goes back to her examination room and cleans up all the blood and Björn's body and thinks about what happened in the examination room.
Karolinska hospital Floor 3
Viktor walks out of the elevator into the ward where his wife Clara is and he goes and sits in the waiting room. Viktor sees a strange leathery egg and it is near the newspaper stand. The egg is open and looks very slimy and Viktor walks up to the egg and studies it. The whole egg is full of transparent slime and Viktor gets curious and sticks his hand into the slime. The slime is reasonably warm and feels soft against Viktor's skin, and Viktor thinks the slime feels roughly like suntan oil but slightly more watery. Viktor pulls his hand from the egg and goes to the public toilet closest to the waiting room and he washes his hands thoroughly. Viktor goes back to the waiting room and flips through a magazine.
A nurse comes out into the corridor and picks up Viktor. He gets to see his wife Clara and she is lying in a bed looking happy. The nurse smiles at Viktor.
- Your wife is probably going to give birth in a few hours so we will soon drive her down to Ward A on Floor 1 and she wants you to come along.
Of course, Viktor wants to come along and he happily nods and sits down by the bed that Clara is in and he holds one of her hands tightly and they smile big at each other. The nurse collects all the papers to be taken to ward A and she works very efficiently and when she is finished she turns to Viktor and Clara.
- Well then. Then I'll drive down your bed to the ward.
The nurse loosens the hospital bed's wheel lock and begins to roll the bed out of the room and out into the corridor. When the bed is out in the corridor, the nurse starts driving it towards the exit where the elevators are and Viktor walks next to it, holding Clara's hand the whole time.
Suddenly, a man comes running from the waiting room and he completely blocks the way for the hospital bed. The man has a wild look and doesn't look very well. The nurse tries to push the man away and succeeds, but then he immediately runs up to Viktor and stares right into his eyes and he starts talking in a heated voice.
- Are you also going to die soon? Soon the space parasites takes over and then it's too late.
Viktor gets irritated with the man and snarls angrily at him.
- My wife is expecting a baby. Our very first child so I don't want to hear that kind of talk.
The man stares intensely at Viktor and Clara.
- You know nothing. We humans have been warned about this for a long time but we have not listened because we have believed that we are always right. A very nasty parasite from outer space has made its way here and has already started wreaking havoc. Once they enter your body, you die a painful death.
The man is coughing heavily and holding his hand to his chest and breathing hard and he moves again and stands in front of the hospital bed and he looks at Clara's heavily pregnant belly. The nurse gets angry because the man is in the way and she raises her voice.
- Move. We have a very pregnant woman here who is due to give birth in a few hours.
The man continues to look at Clara but he doesn't move and the nurse walks up to the man and tries to move him away but he is very strong and he takes a firm grip on the nurse's hand and hugs it as hard as he can. The nurse's whole hand immediately hurts and she jerks it away from the man's grip. The man coughs violently several times and he looks almost tormented each time he coughs.
An alarm goes off in one of the rooms near the corridor and the nurse hears someone screaming.
- She has suffered a cardiac arrest. Get a defibrillator.
A door close to where the hospital bed is is opened and a doctor emerges from there and he runs towards the room where there is a defibrillator. The nurse and Viktor can see that there is a blonde girl lying on the floor in the room, but she does not look pregnant. On the other hand, there is a dark-haired girl sitting in a hospital bed in the same room and she looks as pregnant as Clara and appears to be doing well. Viktor concludes that the blonde girl must be a relative or friend of the dark-haired pregnant girl sitting in the bed.
The doctor comes back with a defibrillator and he starts it up and does CPR on the blonde girl. The man standing by Clara's bed becomes curious about what is happening in the room but he does not move but leans forward over the bed so that he can see into the room. Clara glares angrily at the man leaning over her bed. The nurse calls for a guard because she feels she can't handle this by herself. Viktor notices that the man has a name tag.
Bosse F Department 14 Closed psychiatric care. Viktor understands that the man has escaped from a psychiatric ward.
The doctor inside the room with the blonde girl picks up the defibrillator and he presses the two handles against the girl's chest and pushes them down. The girl's body jumps high and there is a loud noise and several beeps but the blonde girl's heart doesn't seem to start beating so the doctor again presses the two handles down on the girl's chest and presses start. Her whole body jumps again and something explodes from the blonde girl's chest. Red blood sprays everywhere as the Chestburster explodes from the blonde girl's chest and the yellow-red monster manages to bite right into the doctor's hand, biting it off completely. Then the Chestburster attacks his face and Viktor watches as the little monster rips the doctor's nose off.
The man leaning over Clara's bed excitedly points at the Chestburster who continues to eat the doctor's body.
- That's what I,m talking about. This is what they look like when they emerge from their human hosts. Watch and learn. Surely it is a horrible but also beautiful parasite.
Viktor doesn't think it's a pretty parasite and he wants the man to leave here immediately. Suddenly a Chestburster explodes from the man's chest and most of the blood lands right in Clara's face as the man is still leaning forward over her bed. The chestburster crawls out of the open chest and lands right on top of Clara's leg and she becomes hysterical when she sees the yellow-red little monster. Viktor gets pissed off and grabs the Chestburster by pulling its long tail and he manages to get it off Clara's hospital bed. The chestburster immediately starts crawling around on the floor and it appears that it is heading for the wheels of the hospital bed.
The chestburster attacking the doctor crawls out into the hallway and also approaches Clara's hospital bed. The nurse seems lost and doesn't know what to do, but Viktor becomes determined. These monsters must not be allowed to harm his and Clara's child and he begins to roll the hospital bed towards the exit. Viktor makes the nurse focus on him.
- Try to find something sharp and heavy to damage these monsters with.
The nurse knows that there is an old heavy iron pipe in a room that is not being used and she runs over to the room and gets the large iron pipe. The nurse gives the iron pipe to Viktor because he looks stronger than herself. Viktor walks over to the Chestburster which is near the wheels of the hospital bed and he slams the iron pipe at the yellow-red monster and the force of the blow sends it flying across the floor and landing near the exit. Viktor runs to the other side of the bed and spots the other Chestburster and it's about to climb onto the bed and Viktor knocks it down on the floor again and strikes with the iron pipe. This Chestburster also flies across the floor and lands near the first Chestburster.
Viktor is not going to let the two Chestbursters live so he runs up to them and hits them with the iron pipe and soon he manages to crack the skull of one Chestburster and the yellow blood sprays out on the floor. Viktor sees the blood corroding the floor and he realizes that his plan may not have been as simple as he first thought. Viktor looks at the nurse.
- Their blood corrodes the floor. Do you have any unused space where we can throw them in?
The nurse knows that there is a room right next to the exit that is never used and she nods and goes and unlocks the door. When the door is open, she turns to Viktor.
- You can throw them in here. It doesn't matter if the floor corrodes in here.
Viktor catches the bleeding Chestburster by grabbing its long tail and he swings it and throws it into the room. He then hits the other Chestburster with the iron pipe so that it also starts bleeding from the head. The second Chestburster is harder to catch as it squirms on the floor but Viktor manages to grab its long tail and lift it off the floor. The yellow blood splashes on the floor and a lot of smoke forms as the floor is eaten away. Viktor throws the second Chestburster into the room and closes the door. Just as the door closes, the water sprinklers in the ceiling are activated and both Viktor and Clara and the nurse get wet, but the yellow blood dissolves and soon stops corroding the floor.
The nurse presses a button so that the exit opens and then she drives the hospital bed out of the ward and walks over to the elevators that lead to the other floors. Viktor feels proud because he has killed these two beasts. Once again, man has won.
Disclaimer: Facehugger, Chestbuster, Alien, Alien Warriors, Alien Queen belong to Disney/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation